This is a rather frank post on porn, so proceed, or not, with that in mind.
Porn is a problem. It's a personal problem for many and a cultural
problem for all. You may think you have not been affected by porn, but
you have because it's embedded in the surrounding culture. The
staggering size of the pornography industry, its influence upon
the media and the acceleration of technology, paired with
the accessibility, anonymity, and affordability of porn all contribute
to its
increasing impact upon the culture.
Pornography affects you whether you’ve ever viewed it or not, and it
is helpful to understand some of its negative effects, whether you are a
man or woman, struggling with watching it, or simply a mom or dad with a
son or daughter. There is a plethora of research on the detrimental
effects of pornography (and I do not think that what follows are
necessarily the worst of them), but here are seven negative effects of
porn upon men and women:
1. Porn Contributes to Social and Psychological Problems Within Men
Anti-pornography activist, Gail Dines, notes that young men who
become addicted to porn, “neglect their schoolwork, spend huge amounts
of money they don’t have, become isolated from others, and often suffer
depression.” (
Pornland,
93). Dr. William Struthers, who has a PhD in biopsychology from the
University of Illinois at Chicago, confirms some of these and adds more,
finding that men who use porn become controlling, highly introverted,
have high anxiety, narcissistic, curious, have low self-esteem,
depressed, dissociative, distractible (
Wired for Intimacy,
64-65). Ironically, while viewing porn creates
momentary intensely pleasurable experiences, it ends up leading to
several negative lingering psychological experiences.
2. Porn Rewires the Male Brain
